It was within a context of lower-than-expected and slowing growth in Canada and worldwide, including in the United States and some of Canada’s major trading partners, that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance launched its pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2017 federal budget.

It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the Committee selected economic growth as the theme that would guide the consultations this year. With this theme, the Committee recognized that Canada’s people, businesses and communities all have something to contribute as the country pursues higher and sustained economic growth.

Following presentations from nearly 300 groups and individuals during pre-budget hearings in Ottawa and throughout Canada, and after having received more than 400 online submissions, the Committee presents its report on the budget priorities that should be included in the 2017 federal budget.

Chapters Two, Three and Four summarize the proposals made by those who appeared before the Committee in Ottawa or elsewhere in Canada, with a focus on the contributions that people, businesses and communities – respectively – can make
to the country’s economic growth. These chapters also contain the Committee’s recommendations in each area.

Recognizing that the country’s fiscal situation, the manner in which policies are made and the way in which the government functions can affect the manner and extent of peoples’, businesses’ and communities’ contributions to growth, Chapter Five provides the witnesses’ proposals about federal finances, policy making and government. It also presents the Committee’s recommendations in these areas.

The topic areas discussed in the online submissions, as well as during the Committee’s “open mic” sessions throughout Canada, are categorized in Appendix A.